Food Safety

1
Food Safety Challenges, Problems, and
Opportunities By Thomas J. Billy,
President International Food Safety Consulting,
LLC Former Senior U.S. Food Safety Official and
Chairperson, Codex Alimentarius Commission
2
A Risk Managers View

• Director, FDAs Office of Seafood
• Administrator, FSIS
• Chairman, Codex Alimentarius Commission

3
Two Mental Models

• A Food Production / Supply Model
• A Food Safety Control Model

4
Food Production/Supply Model

• Production
• Imports of Raw
• Ingredients
• Processing
• Product Exports
  Product Imports
• Distribution
• Food Service Retail

5
Food Safety Control ModelFood Law(s)RISK
MANAGEMENT

• RISK ASSESSMENT

• Regulations/Decrees
• Prior Approvals/MRLs
• Inspections
• Sampling/Testing
• Recalls
• Enforcement
• RISK COMMUNICATION

6
FDA Seafood HACCP Rule

• NAS Report Seafood Safety (1991)
• National Committee on Microbiological Criteria
  for Foods
• CDC
• Food Net Pilot
• National Estimates of Foodborne Illness
• HACCP Rule
• GMPs
• HACCP Plans
• Hazards and Controls Guide

7
FSIS Pathogen Reduction/HACCP Rule

• NAS Reports, 1985 and 1987
• National Committee on Microbiological Criteria
  for Foods
• FSIS National Product Surveys
• CDC
• Food Net / Pulse Net
• National Estimates of Foodborne Illness
• Pathogen Reduction / HACCP Rule
• SSOPs
• Establishment HACCP Plan(s)
• Salmonella Performance Standards
• HACCP Models / Guides
• Phase-in Strategy

8
Codex Alimentarius Commission

• Role, Approach, and Focus
• A Strategic Framework
• Role of Science
• Risk Analysis Paradigm
• Risk Management
• Risk Assessment
• Risk Communication
• A New Expert Group JEMRA

9
Codex Produces

• General or Working Principles (Policy advice)
• MRLs (Maximum Residue Limits) for food additives
  (683), pesticide residues (2,579), veterinary
  drugs (377), and contaminants (14)
• Commodity Standards (202)
• Codes of Practice (43) and
• Recommendations (Scientific advice and guidance)

10
Food Safety Recommendations and Opportunities

• Treat food safety as a farm/vessel to table
  system-wide issue
• Make risk-based prevention of food safety
  problems the central focus of industry and
  consumers
• Gain acceptance that the primary duty for
  prevention falls on industry
• Focus regulatory priorities on setting and
  enforcing standards that make the food industry
  accountable for performance
• Strengthen mandates and tools for food safety and
  security to assure it is a science-driven and
  risk-based approach

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• Thomas J. Billy, President
• International Food Safety Consulting, LLC
• 4802 Chevy Chase Blvd.
• Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA
• tombilly_at_comcast.net
• Tel [phone]
• Fax [phone]